Stimulus Crack Down

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) State and federal officials are working together to prevent fraud, waste and abuse in the spending of more than $2.6 billion in federal stimulus funds in Oklahoma.

Ensuring accountability is the subject of a Wednesday afternoon news conference in Oklahoma City involving state Auditor and Inspector Steve Burrage, FBI special agent in charge James Finch and U.S. attorneys John Richter, David O'Melia and Sheldon Sperling.

Burrage discussed oversight of economic stimulus dollars last week at a meeting of state auditors in Savannah, Ga.

He says says auditors from his office are already either onsite or doing offsite work for the state's three largest recipients of stimulus funds. They are the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, the Department of Transportation and the Department of Education.